Trump's Old Chief of Staff Plans to Join the Military

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3 months ago
Newser — Neal Colgrass

In this June 5, 2017, file photo, President Donald Trump's Chief of Staff Reince Priebus attends an event in the East Room at the White House in Washington.

Reince Priebus is trying to join the US Navy. The former White House chief of staff—who resigned the post after six months—has a letter of recommendation from Defense Secretary James Mattis to help him become a reserve officer, the Washington Post reports.

"Reince's experience, education, and personality make him an ideal fit to be commissioned into the Navy Reserve," writes Mattis. Priebus, who was apparently summoned to President Trump's office to kill a fly, tells the Navy he admired his sister's service as a Navy doctor and recalls his dad teaching at a naval station.

He was also touched by an Oval Office meeting with the wife and children of a Navy SEAL who was killed during a raid in Yemen.

"At that moment, the gravity of every action we take in the West Wing rushed down upon my shoulders," writes Priebus, 46. "Everything suddenly became extremely real and raw." Mattis' letter apparently complicated matters by seeming like a political favor, and the Navy opted against making Priebus a reserve intelligence officer.

But the Navy says he's close to becoming an ensign, or junior officer. He wouldn't be alone: Other political figures have joined as reserve officers to gain military experience, notes CNN.